Same as it never was
by Elileo
Summary: The turtle brothers accidently ends up in the nightmarish future world ruled by Shredder and his legions. Can they handle the encounter with their future selves, and more importantly, can they save this world from the horrid hands of the Shredder? (SAINW: 2012 universe)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys!  
This is my first attempt at making this story; I love SAINW, and it would be a dream come through if they ever make a 2012 version of that exact episode!  
But until then, we will have to do with fanfiction…**

 **(Eventually, it will turn more Mikey-centric; it won't always be told from his POV, but I still think he is the main character.)**

 **Please tell me if you love or hate it, and I really hope you guys will keep on reading with me.  
Thx in advance! **

«Owww… did we get hit by a meteorite or something..?» Mikey crawled back up on his feet, which wasn't that easy of a task as the professors ship was stranded almost upside down. "Everybody okay?!" Leo yelled through the many alarming sounds coming from the ship. Mikey finally stood up, dizzy from the recent impact with the unforgiving ceiling. "I'm fine!"  
Donnie was helping a coughing April up from the floor, as Raph let go of the Sais he had used as grappling hooks embedded in the wall. "It seems we struck some kind of hole in time and space, my friends." Professor Honeycutt explained. "I hope the ship is not beyond repair." Donnie made his way over to Honeycutt after leaving April in Casey's capable hands. "Let's go out and check out the damage done." He said with a sigh, concern lacing his voice.  
"Although the systems are out of function, it seems the air is breathable. The levels of oxygen at least indicates so." Honeycutt said. Donnie nodded at the professor, and they made their way towards the relatively intact entrance.

"Hey guys… wait a minute!" Leo said in an alarmed tone. Everybody turned to the blue clad leader, following his gaze. What they saw was almost unbelievable, leaving most of them speechless. "Are we… home?" Mikey said, both disbelief and hopefulness in his voice. "It seems like it..!" Raph smiled, turning to the others; "That is the skyline of New York city, right?!" The fugitoid had just made his way over to the broken steering board; "It is hard to tell as most of the interior is malfunctioning… But yes, we are indeed in New York City." As everybody else smiled or cheered loudly, the professor remained silent; "In year 2046 it seems." Mikey furrowed his brow at the statement: "So… we are like, years into the future?" a smile spread on his face; "Cool! Then there is hoover cars and space clothes everywhere!" Leonardo rolled his eyes at Mikey's comment before he turned to the professor; " But earth is not destroyed by the Triceratons… how can that be if we travelled through time? We didn't exactly top them before we left..?" The fugitoid turned to him with a blank look on his robotic face; " I am not sure. It's possible that other forces interrupted their invasion. Something clearly saved the world from utter destruction." The professor smiled.  
"Let's all go check it out!" Raph said, eager to get out of the smoke filled ship. Donnie agreed; "I think we need at least a new power cell and some spare parts to fix this. Time to go scavenge hunting." Leo merely nodded; "We move as a team. We are still not sure what awaits us on the outside, so we better stick together."  
"I will stay behind and see what I can do in the meantime. I will contact Donatello on the T-phone if I require spare parts or assistance." The professor interrupted. "If you are sure you can stay safe on your own." Leo said, a concerned look on his face. "No need to worry, I will merely turn the ships invisibility shield on. It seems to still be working."  
Leo nodded, and signed the others to follow him.

Huge amounts of dust whirled up and made them all cough as the door opened. "Damnit!" Raph cursed, his mouth feeling like sandpaper. The ship disappeared behind them and they quickly made their way over the crash site. Oddly enough, the destruction they at first believed to be caused by the crash continued as the moved further away. The buildings at the outskirts of the city was worn down, crumbling from years of neglect and obvious impacts from some kind of heavy force. The streets was deserted, and the wind howling. They expected to see a tumbleweed crossing the road any minute. «What the hell happened here?" Casey exclaimed.

As no one could answer, he merely received a loud shush from Leo; " We are supposed to be quiet!" Casey pouted, and they made their way in silence from there. "Something is very wrong…" April whispered, hugging herself with both arms as if she was freezing. Climbing blocks of broken concrete and ruined buildings, they slowly but surely made their way towards the city centre. "Where exactly are we going?" Donnie whispered. "Just closer to the centre. There doesn't seem to be anyone living around here anymore…" Leo said thoughtfully, a perplexed look on his face. Where was everybody? He merely assumed that this was all a result of the massive war with the Triceratons that must have broken out at some point. Nevertheless, it seemed awfully quiet and neglected to be so close to the city centre. It was unsettling at best.

Mikey quickly moved up to him, a worried look in his eyes; "Why is everything destroyed?" Leo gave him a reassuring smile, despite his own doubts; "I'm sure it's just the remnants of the Triceratons visit." Mikey nodded, seemingly trying to settle with that thought, although the anxious look in his eyes gave him away. As they stealthily moved closer, none of the sounds they were used to erupting from the noisy, crowded city they called home was heard. It was an erring silence filling the air, and the only sound heard in the distance was some kind of metallic chanting. Something was off. Completely off. Finally, they reached what looked like a familiar neighbourhood of cinderblocks, fire escapes and cramped alleyways. As usual, the streets was filled with litter, but the rotting stench lingering in the air wasn't something they were used to. The streetlights was on, but not in a single window was there any sign of life. Still, nothing else than the loud murmur of vehicles and metallic chanting was heard, despite the fact that not a single car had passed by since they reached the city. "What's going on here?" Now Raph had joined them up front, clearly distressed. Leo signed for him to be quiet; a rhythmic, mechanic sound was heard from the main street. Leo peeked out from their hiding spot behind a wall only to franticly signalize for them to get moving the same way they came. With everybody well-hidden on the nearest rooftop, they looked down only to spot a dozen robots marching by, armed to their teeth. They looked like foot-bots, but they were clearly not the ninja-kind. "What the hell?!" Raph murmured, looking to everyone else for an explanation. Mikey merely stared down at them with is big baby blue eyes as they passed; "This is not right…"

The bots were gone, and now the turtles finally had the chance to take a closer look at the skyline before them. From the rooftops, they could see the endless flashing screens displaying the foot clan symbol in the distance. It looked like a horrible version of Times Square. "No…" Mikey whispered. They stood there for several seconds, taking the devastating truth to heart. "Shredder have taken over the city." Raph said, disbelief and anger in his voice. He turned to the others, a bewildered look on his face, before he suddenly took off to the next rooftop in sight. "No wait!" Leo yelled, cursing under his breath as the others passed him and followed Raph.

Fuelled by rage and confusion, Raph jumped from one rooftop to the other baring his teeth and clutching his Sais till his hands started bleeding. He barely noticed the stinging pain. He just wanted to find the evil piece of shit that ruined their world in the first place and tear his guts out.

The electronic signs filled him with disgust and he didn't stop to catch a glimpse of any of them. Until a terribly familiar face suddenly appeared on the biggest screen he had seen so far.

He came to a stop, a horrid realization hitting him. As the others caught up with the fuming turtle, Leo put a firm hand on his shoulder, preparing to scold him for his rash actions. But he bit back his words as he saw what had stopped Raph in his tracks. "What the.." he started, not managing to even finish his sentence. Before them was a high-resolution picture of a big, humanoid turtle in the midst of combat. His piercing blue eyes was staring directly into the camera, his face twisted with anger as he bared his teeth like a predator. He held only a single nunchaku, as the other arm was missing; the bicep abruptly ended in a metal lid, surrounded by scarred skin. A machine gun was strapped to his back and the faded orange bandana covered his whole head. His body was pure muscle, his shoulders broader than Raph's had ever been, the light green skin covered in both old and new scars. Even his carapace was chipped and covered in scratches.  
Across the photo, it was written in big red letters: "Rebel Leader, Colonel Hamato. Wanted, dead or alive."

Mikey had finally caught up with the rest and turned to the sign that had left everyone speechless. His eyes widened in shock, his jaw dropping as he took in the sight before him; "Wow…" was all he managed to utter. Everybody turned to him with a look of disbelief or admiration, he couldn't really tell… Donnie finally found his voice, and spoke up; "It seems as if we have ended up in some kind of parallel universe where our alternate selves clearly are independent of our existence." Raph huffed at Donnie's explanation; "Well, that is the only way Mikey could ever end up as a rebel leader. Or a colonel for that sake." The turtle in question turned to him with a hurt look on his face; "Hey! That's so not true." Leo shook his head, getting in the midst of the beginning quarrel; "Everybody, calm down! We have more important things to think about…" He was interrupted by the sudden sound of a chopper, the spotlight suddenly illuminating them all. They were so distracted they didn't even notice the slowly approaching enemy.

What looked like an army of foot-bots, both the kind they were used to fighting and the ones armed with heavy artillery, emerged from all sides. They all charged at once, and the turtles could merely unsheathe their weapons before they were engaged in close combat, attacked from all sides. April used her psychic abilities to send shockwaves, clearing some of their path. However, the seemingly never ending stream of foot-bots kept filling in for one another, circling them. Raph managed to throw some over the ledge, before he slashed a couple open with his Sais. Before he knew it, they were knocked out of his hands and Donnie had to come to the rescue before he was slashed in half from behind by a robot. The armed ones started firing, a rain of bullets pouring over them. Mikey quickly covered April with his own shell, and Leo had his hands full just keeping them all at bay. A loud scream of anger was heard, and suddenly Casey was clutching a bleeding shoulder. Raph got back on his feet; " Casey is down!" He picked up his weapons, and together he and Donnie made their violent way over to their wounded comrade. Grunting, Casey got back on his feet. Mikey had managed to create some collateral damage by catching and swinging a robot into a bunch of his own kind. "we wont survive this!" Leo thought to himself, almost overcome with panic. They were hopelessly outnumbered, there was seemingly nowhere to run, and both Casey and Raph was wounded, one from a possibly deadly impact.

He saw his brothers, heck even April, fight desperately for their lives, barely managing to keep the enemy at bay. As he was about to lose all hope, a loud "Booyakasha!" was heard through the gunfire. Perplexed, he thought it was Mikey trying to keep up their spirits, but at same speed as the robots had emerged; there was suddenly a bunch of people dressed in variations of camo uniforms leaping over the ledge. More gunfire were heard, but this time it made a drastic impact to their enemy lines; the bots fell and the numbers were decreasing at a rapid rate as they fought their way in the direction of the newcomers. Friend of foe, they obviously had a common enemy at the time being. Leonardo's hopes rose even more when he saw more than a couple mutants among the camo-dressed attackers. A salamandrian-looking mutant with some kind of customized gun waved at him, signalizing for them to follow her. He looked for the others, making sure they got the message. He ran in her direction, making sure his brothers were joining in on the improvised escape plan. Making their way down the fire escape as they dodging bullets, the now unconscious Casey was handed from one turtle to another. Finally, on ground level, they could see the vehicles awaiting them. They were hurriedly pushed into a big black van by the rest of their rescue squad. Leo couldn't help but notice the Hamato clans emblem on the side, displayed in bright orange. The doors shut, and the chorus of roaring motors were heard as they finally got going.


	2. Chapter 2

Their surroundings rushed by at a rapid speed as they made their way around the many obstacles in the decaying, asphalted streets of New York. Not a single building seemed to have all their windows intact, debris was littering the streets and everything seemed to be in a state of disarray. Guarded bots were patrolling the streets and their caravan of Hamato-vechiles continuously fired at them as they drove by. However, what was most unsettling was the lack of people and life in general. They had barely seen any people in the street, so very unlike the usual New York, brimming with life and the colourful vibe of the city. Not that any of the newcomers wanted to think about the various terrible fates the inhabitants of New York may have suffered. Now everything had turned dull, grey and… dead. It seemed as if there was a constant grey an smelly fog surrounding them on ground level in the inner parts of the city, a little bit like the days when the air pollution from the cars were so bad you had to stay inside to not get poisoned. Everything resembling plants or vegetation had withered away a long time ago, leaving only grey dust in its wake.

The silence engulfing the van was unsettling at best, all the unanswered questions lingering in the air like a thick fog. Leo's stern expression and continued worried glances at the rest of the gang gave him away; Mikey could easily sense his discomfort. He knew he was probably beating himself up for his rash decision to choose the only option possible to get out of there alive. "Hey," The youngest one piped up; "The enemy of my enemy is my bro, right?" Leo smiled at that, even Raph gave a little chuckle.

"I just hope they have some medical facilities, I need to look at Casey's shoulder." Donnie said in a worried tone. The teenage boy had been bandaged up by Donnie to keep stop the blood from pouring out, but it had already bled through and Casey was still lying unconscious on the floor. Raph had, in a rare display of affection, sat down and cradled him up in his arms, leaning him onto his shell to keep him upright. He was looking at Donnie with worry in his eyes, fully aware of the fact that they were losing precious minutes.

Mikey saw Donnie trying to give a reassuring smile, and decided that they needed to speed up. Quickly making his way over to the grating separating them from the driver seat, staring intently into the rear view mirror. Meeting the same confused and slightly disturbed look most of the soldiers had given him so far, Mikey raised his voice despite Leos protests; "We have a wounded comrade in the back here; can you speed up a bit?" The soldier, a purple haired, green eyed, pierced woman with half her head shaved and arms covered in tattoos, finally found her surprisingly childlike voice; " Well be there in a few minutes, and I am driving as fast as the terrain allows me to." Mikey flashed her a smile "Thanks. I'm Mikey by the way." She smiled back at him, one eye still on the bumpy road in front of them; "I know." A hint of humour and disbelief could be heard in her voice, and Mikey thought he knew why. "So… you already know me, huh?" He still had trouble fully understanding the concept of someone knowing him for years when he didn't have the slightest clue who they were. "Kind of." She said, a smile tugging in the corner of her mouth. "What is he… I, like?" he wasn't even sure how to formulate that question without sounding sheepish. He gave a short, nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. She paused, as if she struggled to find the words, before she spoke again; "He… is tough but kind." She gave a small, apologetic smile; "He has been through a lot. It shows." Despite how few words she had actually spoken, there was a whole story hidden between the lines, and it reeked of death and despair. Mikey felt his stomach turn at that thought; "That's a good thing… right?" He said a doubtful smile on his face. The girl furrowed her brow, and looked away from the mirror; "I guess…" Suddenly something seemed to hit her; "I'm sorry, haven't even introduced myself! I'm Angel." She smiled again, her emerald eyes once again meeting his in the mirror. Mikey was about to answer, although he didn't really need to introduce himself, when he caught sight of something. "Guys!" he said, again gaining the attention of his family. "I think we are here." Before them, the seemingly endless road throughout the deserted wasteland that once was the outskirts of New York came to an end, as several large constructions came into view. They passed a rather tall watchtower to see something resembling a large hangar, followed by a huge construction, seemingly containing dozens of small apartments, judging by the many doors and staircases. The small caravan came to a halt in front of the smallest building they had seen so far. As the vehicle came to a stop and Angel disappeared outside, the turtle brothers exchanged questioning glances.

At least, all eyes fell on Leo, just as the doors were flung open and a familiar face came into view; the once lively, baby blue eyes were now greyish, a hardened glint of steel glimmering in their depths. The joyful smile were gone, replaced with an angry frown and a suspicious glare. His tattered, discoloured bandana had obviously been orange at some point. Leo thought he recognized it as the one Mikey wore during their vision quest; the loss of colour now had a very different symbolism. His freckles was a sharp contrast to the many scars covering his face and body; some fresh, others much older. He was built like a tank, all youthful chubbiness gone, his muscles threatening to rip through his skin. Raph did for the first time in his life feel threatened by Mikey's presence, and judging by the look on everybody else's face, he wasn't the only one. Nevertheless, all these things seemed small and trifle, compared to his missing left arm. It was cut off, abruptly ending above the elbow.  
Needless to say, nobody looked at Leo for guidance; they were all preoccupied with trying to believe their own eyes.

The older Mikey's eyes widened slightly at the sight of them, but only a brief couple of seconds before he once again composed himself. "I am Colonel Hamato. But given the… circumstances, you may call me Mike."


End file.
